The MSHS Campus Activation
The project is the concept design of the Senior Quad at Matraville Sports High School completed by a group of 4 students from various academic and cultural backgrounds under the UNSW Professional Placement program.
Matraville Sports High School (MSHS)
MSHS, in an eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia, is a culturally diverse school with 30% of students coming from non-English speaking backgrounds and 35% of students identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Identifying the problems
The community’s demands at MSHS were identified through leading questions from stakeholders, year-9 students including students from the Inclusive Learning Centre (ILC) and staff.
Stakeholders mainly requested the following improvements:
Increase shade and seating: To provide more shade and seating to give people a place to rest and relax.
Install new exercise and entertainment equipment: To meet the stakeholders' demand for an exciting environment with more engaging and fun to use.
Add more vibrant colours: To make the school environment visually appealing and stimulating which encourages people to engage in physical activity and play.
Objectives
The project aims to create a comforting, sociable, and environmentally responsive campus for students and staff by integrating design, landscaping, and art that reflects the cultural history, character, and function of the site and school community.
The MSHS Campus Activation project of the Senior Quad supports submissions to the Department of Education for the staged redevelopment of the campus.
Design key features
Based on what was heard from stakeholders, the budget, and precedent studies, the concept design provided the key features to create a more inviting and enjoyable space for students and staff
Open the canteen window to the quad: To meet the stakeholders' demand for transferring the canteen into a socialising corner, the existing canteen window facing the quad was proposed to repurpose as a check-out point. This reduces congestion at the existing canteen in a solid building (B Block).
Install seating around the canteen: This seating area with more tables and chairs or benches under a pergola was proposed as a part of the integrated seating at the quad’s edges to provide more space and convenience for students and staff to get their meals and enjoy the quad open space.
Use TAS Block as a stage/cinema: To provide a venue for performances, movie screenings, and other events that can be enjoyed by the entire school community.
Use bean bags and install hammocks: To create a more relaxing, unwinding, and playful environment in the quad.
Add a water feature and vegetation: To create a more tranquil and natural atmosphere in the quad that helps with heat mitigation and a pleasant microclimate, especially on sunny/hot days.
Conclusion
Over a period of 10 weeks, the following technical tasks were undertaken to create a design for a more inviting and active outdoor space for students and staff to relax, socialize, and enjoy their time at school. The concept design was presented to stakeholders including the school’s principal and the council representative.
• Project planning including enhancement of project scope and brief.
• Desktop research into youth environments, including elements that enhance socialisation, cohesion, and play.
• Stakeholder engagement with year-9 students, including students from the Inclusive Learning Centre.
• Development of physical massing models and 3D computer-generated models to communicate the spatial organisation and resolution to stakeholder groups.
• Development of concept design and nominal drawings.
